The United States Customs Service (USCS) is one of the primary enforcement agencies monitoring U.S. borders. The Customs Service's responsibilities include, for each of the country's approximately 330 borders, ensuring that illegal goods do not enter the country, and ensuring that legal goods enter the country only after proper inspection and/or approval.
On an annual basis, the USCS is presently responsible for inspecting and approving millions of shipments coming into the U.S., including shipments by air, land, and sea. This is presently done using a largely manual paper-based process. Due to the number of items entering the U.S., only about 1-5% of all shipments are searched. On a daily basis, customs inspectors receive lists of tasks that they must perform. The tasks include alerts to shipments that are to be visually inspected, and alerts to types of shipments that have recently been found to contain illegal goods, such as drugs. The tasks are printed on sheets of paper that the customs inspectors carry with them on clipboards when they perform inspections.
The USCS presently uses a mainframe computer to house a central database, referred to as the Automated Commercial System, or ACS. A typical method used by the USCS to perform inspections is shown in FIG. 10. Each field office generally has at least one computer through which the inspectors can connect to and log in to the central mainframe ACS system, in step 401. The inspector receives and prints a list of tasks for the day (e.g., inspections) in step 403. The inspector then takes the list printout on a clipboard to inspect the goods at the goods' location (e.g., a loading dock) in step 405. Upon completion of the inspection, the inspector must, in step 407, perform any necessary research, enter the inspection findings, and clear the shipment for import. Step 407 is performed at the field office, not the inspection location. That is, the release decision regarding the shipment is physically made from the field office. Finally, in step 409, the central database ACS system issues clearance information (e.g., an authorization code) that the shipper may use to bring the goods into the U.S. The clearance information is typically transmitted to shippers via electronic data interchange (EDI). The shipper may then use the clearance information to obtain the goods and continue their transport within the U.S.
The amount of data entry presently associated with each shipment can be lengthy and tedious. As a result, customs inspectors often wait until several shipments' data are ready to be entered into the database before clearing the shipments. This often delays clearance of shipments for hours, and sometimes even longer.
During inspection, questions may arise regarding a shipment for which the inspector must perform research. The research may be performed before the search has begun, when the alert provides some information to the inspector that the inspector wants to investigate. The research may also be performed after the inspection where the inspection gives rise to the researchable issue. For instance, an inspector may travel to a seaport to perform an inspection for incoming engine blocks being shipped to an auto manufacturer. Upon inspecting the engine blocks in more detail, the inspector may realize that the engine blocks originate from a certain country or are of a certain configuration for which there is an alert, or that the engine blocks are made in a certain manner that makes them likely containers for drugs. Presently, the inspector must travel back to the field office to perform research on the engine block. Research materials available to each inspector include computer-based research tools, books, and the knowledge of other inspectors. The computer-based research tools, however, are not integrated. That is, the inspector may use one application program to perform some research and may use another application program to perform other research. Upon completing research at the field office, the inspector often then must travel back to the border where the search is being performed, in this instance the seaport, and finish the inspection before determining the goods' entry status. This can significantly delay the entry of the goods into the U.S.
Shipments can also be delayed by being misclassified. That is, each type of goods is given a classification, such as “4-cylinder engine,” “6-cylinder engine,” “8-cylinder engine,” and the like. The amount of duty that a company must pay when the goods enter the U.S. depends in part on the classification. When goods are incorrectly classified, the wrong duty may be paid, or the shipment may be delayed so that a USCS import specialist can travel to the goods' location and reclassify the goods. Classifications often contain minor differences, such as “ink roller ball pen” vs. “ink ball-point pen,” so misclassification is not uncommon. In addition, because some borders are located over one hour from the nearest import specialist, misclassification can cause lengthy delays.
In today's global economy, companies are increasingly dependent on international shipments of goods. For instance, an auto manufacturer may have to shut down one or more of its U.S. manufacturing plants if its shipments are delayed at a border for more than one hour. Thus, improved methods and systems are needed that allow customs inspectors to work more efficiently, and selectively search shipments based on better informed decisions.
It would be an improvement in the art if customs inspectors could clear shipments for entry into the country at the place of inspection, without the need to return to a field office. It would also be an improvement if customs inspectors could utilize a single computer to receive task information, perform research, receive news, communicate with other inspectors and import specialists, and clear shipments into the country. It would be a further advancement in the art if the single computer were portable and could be used in the field at a location where inspectors inspect shipments of goods.